Top Items:
Liz Sidoti / Associated Press:
Lawmakers Reject Immediate Iraq Withdrawal — The House on Friday overwhelmingly rejected calls for an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, a vote engineered by the Republicans that was intended to fail. Democrats derided the vote as a political stunt. — "Our troops have become the enemy.
Discussion:
Scott Rosenberg's Links …, Sister Toldjah, Suitably Flip, Free Thoughts, Dr. Sanity, The Strata-Sphere, Ace of Spades HQ, Blogs for Bush, The Jawa Report v3.0 Beta, I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!, Southern Appeal, Wizbang, Cake Or Death?, All Things Conservative, BillHobbs.com, USS Neverdock and Stuck On Stupid
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Charles Babington / Washington Post:
House Rejects Iraq Pullout After GOP Forces a Vote — Differences over policy on the Iraq war ignited an explosion of angry words and personal insults on the House floor yesterday when the chamber's newest member suggested that a decorated war veteran was a coward for calling for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.
CNN:
Defense official: Rumsfeld given Iraq withdrawal plan — Plan calls for troops to begin pulling out after December elections — WASHINGTON (CNN) — The top U.S. commander in Iraq has submitted a plan to the Pentagon for withdrawing troops in Iraq, according to a senior defense official.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Open Source Poor Man, PoliPundit.com, Power Line, The Moderate Voice and Simianbrain
Eric Schmitt / New York Times:
Uproar in House as Parties Clash on Iraq Pullout — WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 - Republicans and Democrats shouted, howled and slung insults on the House floor on Friday as a debate over whether to withdraw American troops from Iraq descended into a fury over President Bush's handling of the war …
Discussion:
Sister Toldjah, California Conservative, firedoglake, The Corner on National … and Taegan Goddard's …
Maura Reynolds / Los Angeles Times:
House Erupts in War Debate — Lawmakers launch personal attacks as Republicans force a vote on whether to pull out of Iraq immediately. The measure is rejected. — WASHINGTON — House Republicans forced a vote Friday over a proposal to begin the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq …
Eleanor Clift / Newsweek:
Murtha's Moment — The White House is still attacking critics by questioning their patriotism. But Congress—and the public—are becoming more skeptical. — Nov. 18, 1005 - Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha is a burly ex-Marine with a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts who rarely speaks to the press.
Discussion:
California Conservative, Lifelike Pundits, NewsBusters.org, Don Surber, Macsmind and Blogs for Bush
Juan / Informed Comment:
Straw Man Resolution in Congress: — Joking around with the Lives of the Troops — Brad Blog gives the text of Democratic congressman and retired Marine Colonel John Murtha's resolution on Iraq: … By the way, Murtha's plan resembles in some ways the one I myself had put forward last last August.
Money Politic$ / Kudlow's Money Politic$:Unserious — Any preannounced timetable for troop withdrawal …
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice:Democrats Don't Bite GOP-Baited Hook As Iraq Withdrawal Resolution Fails
Daily Kos:Ugly GOP Smear Stunt Fails Its Objective
Discussion:
No End But Victory, QandO, The Next Hurrah, New York Times, Viking Pundit and THE NEWS BLOG
Captain Ed / Captain's Quarters:What Could Be More American Than A Vote?
Discussion:
bRight & Early
Washington Post:
Mr. Woodward's Sources — WE'VE SAID from the start of the investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame's identity that if administration officials deliberately set out to unmask a secret agent, they should be punished. But we've also said that, absent evidence of such behavior …
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Kevin Drum / The Washington Monthly:
DECONSTRUCTING WOODWARD....OK, based on a couple of comments from the previous post, here's a possible scenario that explains why Woodward and his source (Mr. X) came forward only after they had listened in on Patrick Fitzgerald's press conference announcing the indictment of Scooter Libby:
Arianna Huffington / The Huffington Post:
Bob Woodward's 'Firecracker,' the Second Coming of Judy's Notebook? — So Patrick Fitzgerald is going to impanel a new Plamegate grand jury. Meaning this thing is far from over. And that Bob Woodward, among others, is going to continue to have some more explaining to do.
Washington Times:
200,000 protest Amman attacks — AMMAN, Jordan — At least 200,000 persons demonstrated yesterday against the recent bombings of three luxury hotels, while a new online statement attributed to terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi defended the attacks and threatened to cut off the head of Jordan's King Abdullah II.
Greyhawk / Mudville Gazette:
A BRIEF HISTORY OF A LONG WAR (IRAQ, 1990-2003) — The 2003 invasion of Iraq is likely to be a contested topic in the American discussion for many years to come. As with any fractious issue, opinions will vary and even individual opinions will shift and change with time.
David Nason / The Australian:
US author lauds suicide bombers — ONE of the greatest living US writers has praised terrorists as "very brave people" and used drug culture slang to describe the "amazing high" suicide bombers must feel before blowing themselves up. — Kurt Vonnegut, author of the 1969 anti-war classic Slaughterhouse Five …
Alan Cooperman / Washington Post:
IRS Reviews Church's Status — 2004 Antiwar Sermon Sparked Look at Tax Exemption — The Internal Revenue Service is examining the tax-exempt status of a liberal church in Southern California because its former pastor delivered a fiery antiwar sermon that criticized President Bush by name …
Discussion:
The American Street
James Taranto / Opinion Journal:
Best of the Web … Still Flaky — Even the New York Sun is hyping the news that Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, supposedly a hawkish moderate Democrat, has joined the cut-and-run caucus. "Bush in 'Nosedive' as Murtha Urges Retreat" reads today's Sun headline (though the lead sentence says …
